High temperature short time sterilizer



Oct. 6, 1959 D. F. HOSMAN HIGH TEMPERATURE SHORT TIME STERILIZER I5Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed May 22, 1957 ATTD RN EYS Oct. 6, 1959 D. F. HOSMANHIGH TEMPERATURE sEoET TIME STERILIZER 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed May 22,1957 INVENTOR.

A'I'I'D RN EYS Oct. 6, 1959 o. F. HOSMAN HIGH TEMPERATURE SHORT TIMESTERILIZER 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed May 22, 1957 I N VEN TOR.

ATTD RN EYS HIGH TEMPERATURE SHORT TIME STERILIZER David Fay Hosman,Omaha, Nebr.

Application May 22, 1957, Serial No. 660,937 Claims. (CI. 21-80 Thisinvention relates to sterilizing devices of the continuously operatingtype wherein a plurality of sterilizing containers are carried bya'wheel whereby as each container completes a revolution products andany accumulated liquid or condensate may be drained from the container,and in particular a plurality of elongated tubes or autoclaves carriedby plates or spiders rotatably mounted on a tubular shaft providing areel with each tube provided with conveying and sealing means wherebyupon opening one end of a tube at a discharging station objects areremoved by the conveyor of the tube and upon the tube arriving at areceiving station other objects are placed in the tube by the sameconveyor and wherein steam or other sterilizing means injected into thetube after sealing the product therein remains in the tube throughout apartial revolution of the sterilizer.

The purpose of this invention is to provide a continuously operatingsterilizer for cans of products, either sealed, open or partiallysealed, and the like in which open or partially open cans are conveyedin such positions that accumulated condensate or liquid drains from thecans, wherein the cans are subjected to high temperatures for acomparatively short period of time and wherein the cans are readilyremoved and replaced.

variation.

The object of this invention is, therefore, to provide a sterilizingmachine that is adapted to operate substantially continuously withproducts being removed and replaced periodically.

Another object of the invention is to provide a sterilizing machinewherein, by permitting the cans to be completely open or partiallysealed live steam comes directly into contact with the material beingsterilized.

Another object of the invention is to provide a sterilizing machine inwhich the material being sterilized is not surrounded with water, syrup,brine or other heat conducting material.

A further object of the invention is to provide a continuously operatingsterilizing machine which is of a simple and economical construction.

With these and other objects and advantages in view the inventionembodies a plurality of radially disposed longitudinally positionedtubular containers, each having a conveyor and a material retaining traytherein carried by spiders rotatably mounted on a shaft with means forsealing the tubular containers and also means for injecting steam intothe tubular containers.

Other features and advantages of the invention will United. StatesPatent "ice ,v 2,907,081 Patented Oct. 6,. 1959 appear from thefollowing description taken in connection with the drawings, wherein:

Figure 1 is a longitudinal section through the sterilizer taken on line1-1 of Fig. 2.

Figure 2 is a cross section through the sterilizer looking toward oneend thereof being taken on line 22 of Fig. 1.

Figure 3 is a cross section through the opposite end of the sterilizeras shown in Fig. 2 being taken on line 33 of Fig. 1.

Figure 4 is a cross section taken on line 4-4 of Fig. 1 illustrating thesupporting stand at one end of the machine.

Figure 5 is a side elevational view of the supporting stand shown inFig. 4 being taken on line 5-5 of Fig. 4, a hearing at the upper end ofthe stand being shown in section.

Figure 6 is a side elevational view of one of the tubular containerswith the parts shown on an enlarged scale and with parts broken awayillustrating the interior of one end of the cylinder or container andalso with a hydraulic cylinder for closing the container shown insection.

Figure 7 is an end elevational view of one of the tubular containersbeing taken on line 77 of Fig. 6.

Figure 8 is a cross section through the closed end of one of thecylinders being taken on line 88 of Fig. 6.

Figure 9 is a plan view of one of the cylinders.

Figure 10 is a sectional view showing a steam connection at the end ofone of the cylinders.

. Figure 11 is a plan view of the transmission assembly positioned belowthe sterilizer, the transmission being provided with gears that meshwith gears on conveyor shafts of the tubular sterilizing containerswhereby with the containers in the lowermost position the conveyorstherein are actuated by the gear assembly to remove and replace cans orother containers therein.

Figure 12 is a longitudinal section through the transmission taken online 1212 of Fig. 11.

Referring now to the drawings wherein like reference characters denotecorresponding parts the improved sterilizer of this invention includeselongated tubular or cylindrical containers or autoclaves 10 havingproduct retaining trays 11 in lower parts thereof and guards 12 forretaining products in cans positioned on the trays 11 in upper partsthereof, chains 13 trained over sprockets 14- and 15 for conveyingproductsinto the containers and also for removing products from thecontainers, gears 16 positioned to mesh with gears 17 of a transmissionas-, sembly below the sterilizer and adapted to operate the conveyorsfor placing products in the containers, the gears 16 also being adaptedto mesh with gears 18 for reversing the direction of travel of theconveyors to remove products from the containers, spiders 19 and 20 onwhich the containers 10 are mounted, standards 21 and 22 in which endsections 23 and 2 1 of a tubular center shaft 25 are rotatably mounted,solid flanges 26 providing sealing means for one of the ends of thecontainers, removable heads 27 carried by arms 23 for sealing the endsof the containers opposite to the ends on which the flanges 26 arepositioned, hydraulic cylinders 29 for clamping the heads against theends of the cylinders through an assembly of toggle links and levers, amotor 30 for advancing the containers of the sterilizer step by step anda steam valve 31 for admitting steam through the containers and which isalso adapted to provide a blow-off for exhausting steam from thecontainers.

The cylinders 10 are positioned in rings 32 on thespiders or plates 19and .33 of the spiders or plates 20, with rollers 34 on the ring 32positioned to contact the outer surfaces of the containers 10 and 35 onthe ring 33, the roller 35. also being positioned to engage outersurfaces ofvthe containers 10. By this means the cylinfdi'ical'containers IO'are adapted to rotate in the spiders or supportingelements.

As illustrated in Figs. 6 and 9 the cylindrical containers 10 areprovided with flanges 36 to which the discs 26' are secured with bolts37 and similar flanges 38 on the opposite end of the cylinders arepositioned to receive the head 27. The flanges 38 are provided withrecesses for Orings 39 and a cover or a head 27, which is carried by thearm 28 is adapted to swing to a closed position against the face of theflange 38 for sealing the container.

The arm 28 is rotatably mounted in a bearing 40 carried'by a bracket 41secured to the outer surface of the cylinder 10 and bolts 42 by whichthe bracket 41 is secured to the cylinder also support arms 43 thatextend beyond the end of the container and to which vertically disposedfingers 44 and 45 are pivotally mounted with pins46 and 47. The fingers44 and- 45 extend from cross bars 48 of yokes for clamping heads of thecylinders in position and, as shown in Fig. 7, the cross bars 48 areprovided with lugs 49 to which sections of a bi furcated end 50 of alink 51 are secured with a pin 52. The opposite end of the link ispivotally connected by a pinto a rocker arm 54, pivotally mounted by apin 55 in the bracket 56- and pivotally connected by a pin 57 to a link58. The opposite end of the link 58 is pivotally connected by a pin 59to one end of a rocker 60 which is pivotally mounted by a pin 61 on thebearing 62 on the upper side of the cylindrical container 10 and whichis connected by a pin 63 to a link 64 extended from a piston rod 65 towhich it is connected by a' pin 66. The piston rod 65 extends from apiston 67 in the cylinder 29 and with fluid, such as. steam orcompressed air, under pressure applied to the piston the levers androcker arms are actuated to clamp the lower ends of the arms 44 and 45against the outer surface of the head 27. The toggle levers are returnedto the released positions by springs 68 and 69 one of the ends of whichare connected to the pin 61 and the opposite ends of which are connectedto the pin 66.

Hydraulic, steam or pneumatic pressure applied to the cylinder 29through a connection 70 drives the piston 29 toward the opposite end ofthe cylinder, drawing the rocker 60 over the pivot pin 61 and the rockerarm 54 to a horizontal position whereby the yoke 48 is forced over thepins 46 and 47 with the lower ends of the arms 44 and 45 clamping thehead 27 against the base flange 38.

Each cylinder is provided with an elongated box or casing 71 for thereturn strand of the conveyor chain 13, the casing including side plates72 and 73, an outer plate 74 and end plates 75 and 76. The sprocket 14is positioned on a shaft 77 that is rotatably mounted in the side plates72 and 73 and the sprocket is mounted on a similar shaft 78 that is alsorotatably mounted in the side plates, and the shaft 78 is provided withan extended end 79 that is supported by a bearing 80.

The gear 17 is mounted on a shaft 81 which is positioned above a shaft82 on which a similar gear 83 is positioned and the shaft 81 isrotatably mounted in bearings 84 and 85 on side beams 86 and 87,respectively, of a supporting frame. The gears 17 and 18 operate inopposite directions and when the spiders carrying the tubular containerscome to the point to be loaded and unloaded at the same time, thengear17 meshes with gear 16 and gear 18 meshes with another gear 16, thuswhile one tube is discharging its products sterilized the preceding tubeis receiving its products to be sterilized. The'ends of the beams 86 and87 are connected with cross beams 88 and 89. The shaft 82 is rotated bya chain 90 trained over sprockets91 and 92 with a motor 93' through areduction gear 94, the reduction gear being'driven by a belt 95trainedover apulley 96 on the motor and a pulley 97 on the reduction gear. Thechain 90 is trained over the sprocket91positioned on the reduction gearand also over the sprocket 92 on the shaft 82, which is directly belowthe shaft 81.

The gear 17 meshes with the gear 83 on the shaft 82 and the gearassembly is adapted to be positioned whereby the gear 17 meshes with thegear 16 of the cylindrical containers.

The gear 16 is also adapted to mesh with the gear 18 on a shaft 98 whichis driven from the shaft 81 with a chain 99, the chain being trainedover a sprocket 100 on the shaft 81 and also over a sprocket 101 on theshaft 98. The gear assembly is mounted on rollers 102 so that it may beshifted to bring either of the gears 17 and 18 into meshing relationwith the gears 16, one of the gears actuating the conveyor chain 13 toplace cans or other objects in the cylindrical containers and the otherbeing adapted to actuate the conveyor chain in the opposite direction,to remove cans or other objects from the containers.

Steam is supplied to a steam chest or ring 103 through the hollow shaft25 and end sections 23 and 24 and from a supply connection 104 with theinlet valve 31 of each of the containers connected to the chest 103With-a tube 105. The valves 31 are adapted to be opened and closed by abutton 106 on extended ends of stems 107 that extend from a slidingvalve member 108 and the buttons are positioned to ride on a ring 109,as shown in Fig. 3, which is provided with a gap extended from the point110. to the point 111.

The sterilizer may be rotated by hand, however,. it may also be actuatedstep by step by a motor, such as the motor 30 mounted, as illustrated inFigs. 4 and- 5 wherein the motor drives a shaft 112 through a wire 113carried by the motor shaft and a worm gear-.114 mounted on the shaft112. The shaft 112 is-provided with an eccentric arm 115 that ispivotally connected by apin 116 to a link 117, the opposite end of whichis pivotally connected by a pin 118 to an arm 119 rotatably mounted onthe section 24 of the tubular shaft 25 and provided with a pawl 120 thatis positioned to;en-' gage teeth 121 of a ratchet wheel 122 alsomountedon the shaft 24.

The motor is adapted to be controlled by a suitable push button switchso that it may operate continuously or may be started after eachcontainer is supplied-with cans or other products.

The arm 119 is carried by a hub 122 which is rotatably mounted on theshaft 24.

The extended end of the shaft 24 is rotatably mounted in the bearing 123and the upper end of the upright 22 and the extended end of the section23 of the shaft is rotatably mounted in a bearing 124 at the upper endoftheupright or standard 21. The inner side of the hearing 124 is providedwith a packing gland 125 and the'end of the shaft is provided with slots126 through which steam from the connection 104 passes through the shaftto the steam chest 103 at the opposite end. From the steam chest thesteam passes through tubes 105 to the valve 31 which holds the steam inthe cylindrical containers as the button 106 travels from the points 110to the points 111 and upon reaching the point 111 springs 127 urge thebutton inwardly opening the valves and-providing blow-off means forsteam in the containers.

Operation A sterilizer is rotated until one of the tubes 10 arrives atthe lowermost position, in which position, the gear 16 of the tube orcontainer meshes with the gear 18 whereby the conveyor chain 13 isactuated to convey articles in the. containers from the open end. Afterall articles are removed from the containers the sterilizer is moveduntil the gear 16 meshes with the gear 17 whereby the direction oftravel of the conveyor chain is reversed and cans or other articles areplaced in the chain-and-carried-into the container.

With the container filled with articles the head 27 is moved against theflange 38 and with hydraulic, steam or pneumatic pressure applied to thecylinder 29 the arms 44 and 45 grip the headsecuring the head in sealingrelation with theend of the container. With the container sealed thesteam is admitted through the valve 31 andthe steam is retained in thecontainer as the sterilizer travels through substantially 360 degreesand until the button 106 of the valve 31 drops from the ring or cam 109,at which time the valve 31 is actuated to shut off the steam supply andopen the container to the atmosphere.

In this comparatively short time products in the cans or othercontainers positioned in the cylindrical containers are subjected tohigh temperatures whereby complete sterilization of products in the cansor containers is accomplished.

It will be understood that modifications, within the scope of theappended claims, may be made in the design and arrangement of the partswithout departing from the spirit of the invention.

What is claimed is:

1. In a multiple container sterilizer, the combination which comprisesan elongated tubular shaft, spaced uprights in which the tubular shaftis rotatably mounted, spaced circular plates mounted on the tubularshaft, elongated tubular containers carried by the circular plates, oneend of each of said containers being closed, heads provided on the endsof the containers opposite to the closed ends, toggle lever assembliesmounted on each of said containers for clamping the heads against theends of the containers, pressure cylinders also mounted on thecontainers for operating the toggle levers, longitudinally positionedproduct retaining trays in the containers,

sprockets rotatably mounted on the ends of the containers positionedwith portions thereof extended into the containers, endless chainsmounted on the sprockets for sliding product containers on the trays,elongated casings for covering outer or return sections of the chainsand sprockets, head shafts rotatably mounted in the ends of the tubularcontainers on which the heads of the containers are positioned, gearscarried by extended ends of said head shafts, a gear assembly positionedbelow the sterilizer and having gears positioned to mesh with the gearson extended ends of the head shafts of the conveyors of the containersfor actuating the conveyors to place objects in and also to removeobjects from the containers, and means for steam sterilizing products inthe containers.

2. In a multiple container sterilizer, the combination which comprisesan elongated tubular shaft, spaced uprights in which the tubular shaftis rotatably mounted, spaced circular plates mounted on the tubularshaft, elongated tubular containers carried by the circular plates, oneend of each of said containers being closed, heads provided on the endsof the containers opposite to the closed ends, toggle lever assembliesmounted on each of said containers for clamping the heads against theends of the containers, fluid pressure cylinders also mounted on thecontainers for operating the toggle levers, longitudinally positionedproduct and can retaining trays in the containers, guards also mountedin the containers and positioned in opposed relation to the trays forretaining products in cans positioned on the trays, sprockets positionedon outer portions of the tubular containers and spaced inwardly fromends thereof, endless chains trained over the sprockets, elongatedcasings carried by the tubular containers and extended over the returnsections of the chains and enclosing said sprockets, tail shaftsrotatably mounted in the elongated casings and on which sprockets at theclosed ends of the tubular containers are positioned, head shaftsrotatably mounted in the elongated casings on which the sprockets inends of the tubular containers on which the heads are positioned aremounted, the head shafts having extended ends, gears on the extendedends of the head shafts, a gear assem- 6 bly positioned belowthe'sterilizer and having gears P0! sitioned to mesh with the gears onextended ends of the head shafts of the conveyors of the containers. foractuating the conveyors to place objects in and also to remove objectsfrom the containers, elongated guards inthe tubular containerspositioned to urge product retaining containers on trays in the tubularcontainers and also designed to retain products in said productretaining containers and means for steam sterilizing products in thecontainers.

3, In a multiple container sterilizer, the combination which comprisesan elongated tubular shaft, spaced uprights in which the. tubular shaftis rotatably mounted, spaced circular plates mounted on the tubularshaft, elongated tubular containers carried by the circular plates, oneend of each of said containers being closed, heads provided on the endsof the containers opposite to the closed ends, toggle lever assembliesmounted on each of said containers for clamping heads against the endsof the containers, hydraulic cylinders also mounted on the containersfor operating the toggle levers, longitudinally positioned productretaining trays in the containers, guards also mounted in the containersand positioned in opposed relation to the trays for retaining productsin containers on the trays, endless chains providing conveyors mountedinside of the containers, casings surrounding said chains, head shaftsof the conveyors having extensions with gears thereon at one end of thesterilizer, a gear assembly positioned below the sterilizer and havinggears positioned to mesh with the gears on extended ends of the headshafts of the conveyors of the containers for actuating the conveyors toplace objects in and also to remove objects from the containers, a steamchest positioned on the circular plates at the end of the sterilizeropposite to the end on which the heads of the containers are positioned,cam actuated control valves positioned on the closed ends of thecontainers, tubes connecting the valves to the steam chest, and meansfor actuating the valves by the cam for retaining steam in thecontainers and also for exhausting steam from the containers.

4. In a sterilizer, the combination which comprises an elongated tubularhorizontally disposed shaft, spaced uprights in which the shaft isrotatably mounted, circular plates mounted on the shaft and spacedinwardly from the uprights in which the shaft is rotatably mounted,elongated cylinders carried by the circular plates, one of the ends ofthe cylinders being closed, heads removably mounted on the ends of thecylinders opposite to the closed ends, hydraulic cylinders carried bythe elongated cylinders operatively connected to the heads through leverassemblies for closing the heads on open ends of the elongatedcylinders, endless chains for conveying containers into the cylindersand also for removing containers from the cylinders, an operating gearassembly positioned to engage conveyor operating gear means of thecylinders upon arrival of the cylinders to loading and dischargingpositions by actuating the conveying means, spring means for actuatingthe elongated cylinder heads to open positions, a steam chest forsupplying steam to interiors of the elongated cylinders, and valve meansfor exhausting steam from said elongated cylinders.

5. A sterilizer comprising a tubular shaft, spaced standards in whichthe shaft is rotatably mounted, spiders mounted on and spaced inwardlyfrom ends of the shaft and also spaced from said standards, radiallydisposed circumferentially spaced elongated cylinders carried by thespiders, outer ends of the elongated cylinders being closed, productcontainer guides positioned in the elongated cylinders, endless chainsextended through the elongated cylinders and positioned to conveyproduct containers on the guides, closures for the ends of the elongatedcylinders opposite to the closed ends, a ratchet wheel mounted on theshaft and spaced from the ends of the cylinders on which the closuresare positioned, a

7 mam: carrid By the standards at tfie en6 of th cyl indem on which the"closures are positioned mbun'td to co'ac'uwitlmhe ratchet wheel forrotatin th'o' cylifidr 'as s'amblies step by*step',' a; motoropeiativ'ly c'onnected to the ratchet for intermittently rotating'thesha'fis, sp'id'eis' and cylinders,- V and for stopping 1 the elongatddylindefs at: pointsfon receiving product retainingwont'a'iner and alsoat points" for discharging the containers; fluid pres shrezmeans:mounted on'the. cylindersion a'ctila'ting the closures at the ends ofthe cylinders, a steam chest for adnx'itting steam to the elongatedcylindersand valve means for cutting off the supply of: steam and'pi'niitting' the steam to escape from the cylinders;-

UNITED STATES FATENTS Baker Feb; 12-, 1952' FOREIGN PATENTS1 FranceJigne 29 IQDB France Jan. 19,1948

